A Bee in Maine
>They are not native to the USA. They are European in origin, and were brought to North America by the early settlers.
>There is only one queen, which is the only fertile female. She mates with multiple males, and lays up to 2,000 eggs per day.
>They have control over the society of their hive. Unfertilized eggs are male, fertilized eggs are female. They choose with egg will be a new queen by feeding it royal jelly.
>Nearly all worker bees are female, they live all winter long, but only 4 – 6 weeks during summer. Worker jobs are assigned as housekeeper; nursemaid; construction worker; grocer; undertaker; guard; and finally, after 21 days they become a forager collecting pollen and nectar. Becoming a forager is the equivalent of “putting a cow to pasture”. While an integral part of their society, this signifies the end of their life as the literally work themselves to death. Females only sting if provoked. Since they have a barbed stinger, using it will result in their death.
>Drones are male and kept in the hive on standby for mating. They have no stinger but their reproductive organ is barbed, so using it will result in their death. In winter, males drones are of no use and are kicked out of the hive (death).
>One hive collects about 66lbs of pollen per year. Without bees, our plants, trees, flowers etc. would not grow.
>In conclusion. Women rule among the honey bees, literally. Every time you eat honey, remember, this was brought to you by hard working women that died creating their sweet elixir that provides us with many medicinal benefits.
>No Bees = No Pollination = No Plants = No Food = No oxygen = Earth Dies = Humans Die
>A honey bees society is a lot like Wicker Man. Except instead of fire, they kill their men by letting them freeze in icy winter.
“NOVA chronicles a year in the life of a bee colony with stunning images that take viewers inside the innermost secrets of the hive. The documentary team spent a year developing special macro lenses and a bee studio to deliver the film’s astonishing sequences. These include the “wedding flight” of the colony’s virgin queen as it mates in mid-air with a drone; the life-and-death battle between two rival queens for the colony’s throne; and the defeat and death of a thieving wasp at the entrance to the hive. The show also explores such mysteries as the famous “waggle dance” with which scout bees signal the exact direction and distance of nectar sources to the rest of the hive. A vivid picture emerges of the bee’s highly organized social life, revolving around the disciplined sharing of construction tasks, the collection of nectar, and warding off enemies.Original Broadcast Date: January 4, 2000″